{"id":6287,"date":"2022-10-10T13:09:12","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T13:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/"},"modified":"2022-10-10T13:09:12","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T13:09:12","slug":"linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/","title":{"rendered":"LinkedIn matched audiences: How to get started"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LinkedIn can be a difficult platform to master, but with the right combinations of targeting and messaging brands can see success in generating results. <\/p>\n<p>Matched audiences allow you to reach people who have engaged with your business in some way and go after lists of \u201cdream companies\u201d that you\u2019d like to work with.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This article provides an overview of how you can get started with matched audiences along with tactics for using them in your campaigns.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/#Types_of_matched_audiences\" >Types of matched audiences<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/#Guidelines\" >Guidelines<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/#Layering_targeting\" >Layering targeting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/#Exclusions\" >Exclusions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/#Upselling_and_ad_sequencing\" >Upselling and ad sequencing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/#Lookalike_targeting\" >Lookalike targeting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/#Getting_data_from_audiences\" >Getting data from audiences<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/10\/linkedin-matched-audiences-how-to-get-started\/#Start_testing_audiences\" >Start testing audiences<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Types_of_matched_audiences\"><\/span>Types of matched audiences<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>LinkedIn allows for a variety of first-party and third-party methods to build audiences. Here are the available categories at the time of writing this article:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Contact lists<\/strong>: Targeting individual people.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Company lists<\/strong>: Targeting anyone who works for a particular organization.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pixel-based retargeting<\/strong>: Reaching anyone who visited select pages on your website.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Engagement-based retargeting<\/strong>: Based on in-platform activity, such as:\n<ul>\n<li>Single image ad engagement.<\/li>\n<li>Video ad views.<\/li>\n<li>Lead form opens\/submits.<\/li>\n<li>Company page engagement.<\/li>\n<li>LinkedIn event RSVPs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Guidelines\"><\/span>Guidelines<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The absolute minimum size for a matched audience is 300 to be eligible to serve. This means 300 individuals need to be matched in the platform after uploading and processing the list. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll likely see some drop-off with the platform not being able to match every individual in your original document. <\/p>\n<p>The platform will show a match rate after the list has finished syncing, allowing you to double-check your fields if the match rate seems abnormally low.<\/p>\n<p>However, just because you <strong>can<\/strong><em> <\/em>target as few as 300 people doesn\u2019t mean you should. Larger audiences generally see more efficient CPCs and CPAs, with a threshold of at least 50,000 individuals being ideal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For company targeting, LinkedIn recommends including a minimum of 1,000 companies. <\/p>\n<p>For contact targeting, LinkedIn recommends a minimum of 10,000 email addresses. If more than one email address matches with the same user, that person will only be included once. <\/p>\n<p>The maximum file size for either type of list is 20MB or 300,000 records.<\/p>\n<p>When uploading a list, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/help\/lms\/answer\/a423102\/company-and-contact-targeting-list-templates?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">use the templates that LinkedIn provides<\/a>. You can use just the email field for a contact list or the company name field for a company list if wanted, but the more columns you can include, the more accurate you can expect the matching process to be.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, you\u2019ll have to wait for LinkedIn to finish processing a list before you can target it in your campaigns. Generally, lists will be ready within 48 hours, but occasionally they can take longer.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, some CRMs and automation platforms allow you to sync lists directly. This compatibility, if available, can reduce the lift necessary to get a list in place while also allowing you to keep it refreshed.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color\">\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 col-xl-4 pe-md-0 pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-7 col-xl-6  pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\">\n<div class=\"row g-0\">\n<div class=\"form-group col-12 col-lg-8 mb-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4 col-xl-4 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<p>Processing\u2026Please wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-dark inlineButton w-100 rounded-0 font-weight-bold\" type=\"submit\" name=\"submit_button\">SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-2 col-xl-2 ps-1\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/termsofuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color\">\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Layering_targeting\"><\/span>Layering targeting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Matched audiences can be used in combination with LinkedIn\u2019s other available targeting. Think about ways you can use your own audiences plus additional layers such as company size, job function, seniorities, titles, or others. Just note that you cannot combine contact lists with interests and traits.<\/p>\n<p>For example, you can target a company list layered with job seniorities of Senior level and up if you\u2019re seeking to avoid junior-level individuals. <\/p>\n<p>Or you can retarget people who visited your website and also work for companies with over 500 employees.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"415\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/10\/audience-layering-800x415.jpeg\" alt=\"Audience layering in LinkedIn\" class=\"wp-image-388494\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can use \u201cAND\u201d as well as \u201cOR\u201d targeting when setting up layers. For instance, you can reach people who are members of either list A or list B, and if they also have Director level seniority.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Exclusions\"><\/span>Exclusions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Lists can also be valuable to make sure you\u2019re not wasting spend on individuals you don\u2019t want to target.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/10\/audience-exclusion-800x457.jpeg\" alt=\"LinkedIn audience exclusion\" class=\"wp-image-388496\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>For instance, you can upload a list of your current customers and exclude them from campaigns to avoid reaching them. You also should exclude competitor companies so their employees don\u2019t see your ads.<\/p>\n<p>Website retargeting audiences can come in handy for building exclusions as well. <\/p>\n<p>To gate out job seekers, build an audience based on people who visit your \u201cCareers\u201d page. <\/p>\n<p>If your product offers an online experience, you can exclude people who reach the log-in page as those are likely to be existing customers.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Upselling_and_ad_sequencing\"><\/span>Upselling and ad sequencing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If your brand entails the opportunity to upsell customers on additional levels of service, sync lists of current customers based on their tier or existing plans to then serve ads for new products or services.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, users of CRM software could be upsold to add marketing automation features to their existing plans.<\/p>\n<p>You can also plan to put different content in front of people after they complete interactions with your brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re using lead forms to promote a downloadable buyer\u2019s guide, you can target people who have filled out the form for the guide and promote an opportunity to request a demo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>By controlling which lists you include and exclude from campaigns, you can effectively set up ad sequencing between campaigns to stagger exposure through the course of the sales funnel.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Lookalike_targeting\"><\/span>Lookalike targeting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve created a matched audience, you can also make a corresponding lookalike audience. This will find people with similar characteristics to those on a particular list.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"447\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/10\/lookalike-800x447.png\" alt=\"Lookalike targeting\" class=\"wp-image-388497\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>For instance, if you upload a list of current customers, you can then create a lookalike audience that will include people with similar job titles, group membership, interests, etc. <\/p>\n<p>Be sure to test lookalikes in separate campaigns from your original lists so you can segment results, as you can\u2019t isolate the performance of one specific audience within a single campaign.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Getting_data_from_audiences\"><\/span>Getting data from audiences<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In addition to campaign targeting, LinkedIn offers some useful analytics features to see details about the individuals in your lists.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To access this information for a contact list you\u2019ve uploaded, navigate to the Audiences section, select an audience, and click the Insights button in the upper right.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"598\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/10\/insights-800x598.jpeg\" alt=\"Audience insights\" class=\"wp-image-388498\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>You\u2019ll now see options to view top characteristics, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Interests<\/li>\n<li>Locations<\/li>\n<li>Job functions<\/li>\n<li>Job seniorities<\/li>\n<li>Years of experience<\/li>\n<li>Titles<\/li>\n<li>Companies<\/li>\n<li>Company size<\/li>\n<li>Industries<\/li>\n<li>Growth rates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When you select a company list, you\u2019ll see the Company Engagement Report, which shows details on how often people from each company:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Engaged with ads.<\/li>\n<li>Engaged organically with your company page.<\/li>\n<li>Or visited your website.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This report can also be helpful to ensure that your list matched against the proper companies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"331\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/10\/company-engagement-800x331.jpeg\" alt=\"LinkedIn company engagement report\" class=\"wp-image-388499\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you\u2019ve created website retargeting audiences, you can view similar details by navigating to <em>Analyze &gt; Website Demographics.<\/em> You can also compare the characteristics of two different audiences.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Start_testing_audiences\"><\/span>Start testing audiences<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If this article has helped you to identify some matched audiences you haven\u2019t yet tested, start thinking about ways to implement them in your campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whether you assemble prospect lists to import into LinkedIn or start building engagement-based audiences to target people who are engaging with your brand, think about content that makes sense for the level of interaction people have had with your brand.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/linkedin-matched-audiences-get-started-388491\" target=\"_blank\">LinkedIn matched audiences: How to get started<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LinkedIn can be a difficult platform to master, but with the right combinations of targeting and messaging brands can see success in generating results. Matched audiences allow you to reach people who have engaged with your business in some way and go after lists of \u201cdream companies\u201d that you\u2019d like to work with.\u00a0 This article provides an overview of how you can get started with matched audiences along with tactics for using them in your campaigns. Types of matched audiences LinkedIn allows for a variety of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6287\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}